Looks only a mother could love?

Wind Waker may well be the best-looking console title yet, at least from a purely aesthetic perspective. While the cel-shading effect may seem odd at first, it isn't as jarring as Jet Set Radio Future, for example. It becomes natural after just an hour or two. Although the look is far from realistic, the world is immersive nonetheless - perhaps more so, since the GameCube can render fantasy more convincingly than reality. On the whole, Wind Waker seems to have a brighter palette than Ocarina of Time, especially in broad daylight out at sea, although darker moments abound deep in dungeons and at night. The game also has a steady, if not optimal, frame rate - it looks to run at a locked 30 FPS - that's only noticeable far off in the horizon, or when dozens of foes attack to bog it down. The strongest aspect of the visuals may well be the character designs. Link, at least, has come a long way from the awful "wink" image that leaked almost two years ago. Enemies appear as if they've crawled off the pages of the original Zelda manual, as if they were what Miyamoto had in mind fifteen years ago. Adding to the splendor is the unprecedented detail with which many foes are animated. Darknuts, the stubborn knights of the original, now show their skivvies once you cut off their armor, and if they drop their swords, they'll try kung fu until they can get it back.

Aurally, Wind Waker is a mixed bag, but it has some truly legendary moments. Some of the more obnoxious ambient tunes from Ocarina of Time are back, especially in homes and shops. Early on, you may suspect that Koji Kondo was on sabbatical while the game was being scored. The dungeons aren't particularly inspiring in this regard either. They generally sport some ambient sound effects that, while inoffensive, aren't memorable either. Fortunately, most of the new tracks are quite good and a few are excellent. In particular, the mini-boss theme and one of the boss themes are still in my head despite not hearing them for weeks. Maybe I'm just partial to wind instruments. The title track sounds like something that would greet you at a Renaissance fair, mixing together two Celtic-sounding tunes that actually play a part in the game progression later on. And, although the overworld theme isn't the classic Zelda song, it manages to convey the same sense of adventure as its predecessors. The sound effects are fairly pedestrian overall, which is almost a good thing, since neither Link's hoots and hollers nor the "you're almost dead" alarm (that you'll barely hear anyway) is as irritating as before. One excellent use of sound clues involve the devilish Miniblins, who attack in large numbers and merrily taunt you before you can discern where they are. They're almost scary.

Smooth sailing, but a little too breezy

Overall, Wind Waker is far from perfect. Complaints about the level of difficulty, the camera, and the occasional tedium associated with sailing or dungeon-crawling are all viable. While Zelda generally merits the highest of expectations, I'd rank Wind Waker right below Metroid Prime on a list of top GameCube games. That said, a game doesn't have to be the best game evar to be worth a purchase and a playthrough, and this one certainly does almost everything right. Wind Waker combines a massive, engrossing world with personable, believable characters, a fun, intuitive game engine, and plenty of nods to Zelda fanatics to create a legendary experience for all ages.

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